Bestiary
The Bestiary This is an optional roleplay guide to creatures, illnesses, and plants. We hope that our ideas (and many others) get incorporated into casual RP and for the Bestiary to become a widely acceptable reference guide for many of Elysiums creatures and other miscellaneous life. There are three classifications in this Bestiary. If you could not already tell, those would be Creatures, Illnesses, and Plants. Under each classification, there are categories to represent the varying nature of Elysiums CIPs. Within those categories lie the player-made lore that you are probably looking for. Certain CIPs may have subcategories for variants of them, such as the Drake*. We certainly hope that whomever is reading this enjoys the content below and uses it to some extent in the near future. Enjoy! ~Yorsh The current contributors to the Bestiary are as follows: *Yorshanthalas *WizardGoof Creatures Under this particular section, we cover all manner of creatures- living, undead, or in-between. '' '''The current categories* for creatures are as follows:' *Humanoids *Constructs *Undead/Spectral *Bugs/Parasites *Plant-like *Animal (Natural) *Animal (Arcane) *Fey *Draconic *Corrupted *Miscellaneous *''More categories will be added as time goes on, so don't worry if there isn't a spot on here that would represent your particular creature!'' Humanoids Nothing here yet! Constructs Clothreaver An accidental construct, created from the remnants of sentient magical items (such as leather, cloth, and parts of miscellaneous weapons) that were left by their owners to rot. It appears as harmless scraps of cloth, unmoving until it detects some form of magic nearby. Once it senses this source of magic, the cloth will animate, the scraps moving about in a cyclonic form. This twister (About 1-2 meters tall and a meter wide depending on how much material is there) will wrap itself around the target and begin sapping its magic. If it attaches to an enchanted item (Other magic-based constructs are not exempt from this), the item/construct will begin to quickly lose its enchantments. If it is a living being that gets attached to by these, the Clothreavers will attempt to immobilize and suffocate the victim to death and drain them of their mana. Clothreavers are exceptionally dangerous to magic-users in general, since they can quickly overwhelm someone who is not prepared. (This particular construct attempts to suffocate the target, thus blocking any vocalized spells. It will also try to immobilize the target, restricting spells that require gestures, and as a final rude touch, the Clothreaver saps magic, weakening spells in general). Clothreavers are immune to fire; however, they take a considerable amount of damage when exposed to water or silver. Thus the cloth reaver cannot drain any magical items or other constructs made of silver. The Clothreaver consumes magic to remain animate and alive. They will not attack other Clothreavers, will not approach water, and cannot be trained. jagged remain Undead/Spectral Marrowbat The Marrowbat is slightly larger than a regular bat although it appears to be made up entirely of bone. It cannot fly as it did in life, instead clawing its jagged remains with surprising speed and vigor to get where it needs to go. The marrowbat is extremely aggressive and will attack any living creatures on sight. It is not an intelligent creature by any means and the creature will disregard danger to itself in order to kill its prey. Their origins are unknown, but some speculate they are created whenever wild bats take up residence and die within evil locations, such as crypts and certain ruins. The marrowbats bite causes extreme cold and if it latches on to the target for too long (six seconds give or take), necrosis. Marrowbat swarms have been known to wipe out entire parties of adventurers within mere seconds, leaving nothing but bones. They don't eat what they kill, rather the flesh torn from their victims simply falls through their petrified bones. The marrowbat is weak to certain holy magic (as is the case with most undead) and will do everything in its power to stop whatever is causing the effect, often to its own demise. The marrowbat is not affected by sunlight, cold, acid, and it is resistant to magic. It possesses a fairly decent weakness to fire, holy magic, and regular weapons. Some evil clerics and mages can command these creatures, and often use swarms of them to guard their treasures and secrets Ravenous Mist This incorporeal being appears as a greenish-blue fog of shifting, twisted creatures, each moving individually, reaching out fetid, vaporous claws; desperately clawing for their next meal. The mist itself is a creature, but the unsettling “ghosts” seen within it are just phantasms of previous victims, a horrid mockery of what they were in life. This creature forms in magical vapors touched by the souls of the recently fallen (an example of which would be a battlefield where high-power magic was used and left smoldering ruins.) It strips flesh from bone and suffocates any unfortunate enough to be caught within its form. The creature itself cannot actually touch a corporeal being, rather the vapors in it appear to make flesh evaporate. This also means that any creature caught in its grasp can escape by normal means if they are quick enough to avoid the caustic and suffocating effects of the mist. The mist is easily dispersed by strong gusts of wind, and if it gets spread out too much it fades away entirely. Bugs/Parasites Womb Swarmer This parasite should be dealt with immediately. It’s a 2-inch, crab-shaped creature that’s attracted to those who are pregnant. They aim for the creature’s waist, digging through the skin and blood, slowly inching for the womb as it aims to spread eggs straight to the unborn child. It can produce an egg every week, also feeding off of the flesh and blood around it. Once the child is born, the crab would die from the child’s birth. The child will feel woozy, but can be kept healthy if fed more than an average child. The eggs are leeching the food and blood from this child and can really risk their life. By the time this child is 3 years old, the eggs would start to hatch as they start hatching, violently crawling out the child’s mouth, even risking the child to die from this swarm. The crabs would then go swarm for new victims. Three months of no victim could leave the crab to die. Ways to treat the victim from this parasite is by surgery on the woman, or surgery on the child which could leave to higher risk depending on how many eggs have been laid. Lullabiter This particular species of spider is named Lullabiter due to the “unique” effects of their venom. Those bitten by a Lullabiter will immediately feel its effects (aside from the sharp pain caused by it biting initially) which include weakness, drowsiness, and overall extreme fatigue. Within five to ten minutes (provided the victim doesn’t have any natural resistances to venom) the afflicted person or creature will become unconscious. This state can last an hour to around three days depending on how many times the person was bitten. Although not usually deadly, this spider is an incredible nuisance and if the victim falls asleep at the wrong moment, could lead to their unfortunate demise. The spider can be recognized by the bright orange Z marking on its lower abdomen. It’s approximately 2 centimeters long, and does not spin webs. Rather (similar to the hunting spider of the real world), it stalks its prey and inflicts its meals with its venom to almost immediately cause unconsciousness. It devours its prey whole whilst it is sleeping. The venom can be removed prior to wearing off with certain spells, and the spider won’t usually bite a person unless it feels threatened. Psioleech The Psioleech is an incorporeal, typically invisible parasite. These parasites when seen through magical means appear as a translucent leech (identical to one you would see in the real world) with a dim light blue emanating from within it. The Psioleech targets individuals with a high intellectual capacity, such as advanced magi or psions. The parasite will “latch” onto the victim, draining them of their intelligence. These creatures can often go years unnoticed, the only signs of them being forgetfulness, short-term memory loss, difficulty thinking and understanding concepts that would usually be easily recognized, and overall confusion. After decades of feeding, these parasites detatch, leaving nothing but a babbling husk where once stood a great intellectual. A strong burst of psionic or magical energy engulfing the victim will typically kill even the most hardy of Psioleeches (unfortunately the victim as well, getting engulfed in powerful magic like that is not a recommended thing to do). Some Psions and Magi purposefully cast these spells on themselves in a controlled environment to rid themselves of any Psioleeches they may have. Any Psioleech that has been revealed will usually try and escape to return to the feast later, so targeting them directly with magic or psionics immediately after seeing them is highly recommended. Plant-like Nothing here yet! Animal (Natural) Unnamed (Rodent) This creature is a brownish-green, furry rodent that looks sort of like a possum(Not a marsupial). Except, it has a red ball on its tail with a tiny hole on the bottom(The tail being shorter than a regular possum). This ball is a sensitive spot as when messed with, would cause it to spray a noxious gas from the ball, deflating it to the size of a grape. This gas is just like a skunk's, but also unbearable for the eyes. The ball will slowly build back up its gas, building up after 12 hours. This is the creature's butt as well, but it can hold its gas for at-least 24 hours, until it finally lets it release to build up for 12 more hours. The creature spends most of its time sleeping and likes to sleep on top of branches, letting its tail dangle off the branch, as if an apple(Slightly smaller). The creature uses its green fur and apple-like tail as camouflage in trees. Its meat is like eating a regular possum, but the tail best to not eat as it can damage the eater's organs. The creature also enjoys to eat plants, leaves and bugs. Animal (Arcane) Unnamed (Deer) This creature is a deer that's adapted to certain forests that hold magic/enchanting radiation. Its antlers have a light glow that makes a beautiful, luring aura towards it. This glow of course can be resisted, but can be used to slightly daze the simple minded. The glow is stronger at night, as the darkness allows the glow to become more attractive. This glow has become natural and would stay within the antlers no matter what. Besides the antlers, the deer-like species has no special properties. It does however have a richer taste in its meat and blood. Their food diet has not changed as its goals are still the same as a regular deer. Lichtarg The Lichtarg is highly reminiscent of a capybara in appearance, aside from its alternating fur colour and opaque quartz “gem” on its back. (The fur is based on the visible light spectrum, so it goes from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet respectively) These colours are based upon how hungry the Lightarg is, red being the least hungry and violet being the most hungry. You will most likely never see a Lightarg past the color yellow, since the creature feeds off of light. Similar to photosynthesis, the Lichtarg converts light energy around it (Non-magical sources only) into nourishment for itself, providing the creature with a near limitless food source. It is diurnal because of its diet. They are uncommon around Elysium due to over-hunting for their precious gemstones. Poaching has nearly driven it into extinction but many scholars theorize that large packs of them may still exist deep in uncharted territories. Druid (Non-Humanoid) The druid is a species of arcane bird that can be found in the town of Equin. The species is often depicted as a flock of crows, hawks, or doves, but can very often change their appearance to camouflage. The druids are believed to have originated from the beginning of Equin's rule under Serene. The birds are fiercely loyal to their leader, as well as the king or queen that rules the nation they live in. Upon any misdeed that can be treated as a crime by the nation, the druids will release their birdlike forms and reemerge as ambiguous humanoid figures capable of incapacitating the target quickly. Most do not react, however, unless told to by either the royalty or their leader (usually referred to as the Head Druid.) Ornithoids There are over 200 species of birds and similar creatures in Elysium. Aria's most common species are the hawk, sparrow, dove, and vireo. Fei include kestrels, parrots, and many others. Biurnal species such as the swan native to northern Fei. According to Google, geese exist in neither Elysium nor real life. In many towns, Ornithoids are considered symbolism of change or, ironically, death. Birds who bear diamond-shaped feathers are often accused of being witches in disguise, and many are killed to wade the omen. Fey Nothing here yet! Draconic Drake Drakes are an impure form of Dragons, birthed originally from the colossal amount of magic left over by the dragons dying. Drakes are quite common around Elysium, with some pygmy drakes being kept as familiars or pets by certain individuals. Drakes can be as varied as dragons in color, base element, breath, form, ect. Drakes can have many variants depending on location as well (For example if a dragon had died near a large body of water, Sea Drakes might have been formed). Drakes mature within five years and can typically live up to two centuries provided they aren’t killed first, and when fully grown they weigh about a ton. They can grow up to a four meters long and their wingspan can extend to around ten meters. Drakes of that size are untamable (The only exception being the incredulously rare intelligent drakes, and even then they will only assist one if it is to their own benefit) and will typically attack any creature foolish enough to try and make them subservient. They gather in miscellaneous mountain regions in Elysium twice a year to mate; once in the Spring and once in Fall. They lay a clutch of one to five eggs at a time and leave their offspring to fend for themselves the moment they hatch (This usually leads to the cannibalism of one or two of the hatchlings by the others in a struggle to survive). These eggs can be tampered with by magical means to create pygmy Drakes, the mother of these eggs will guard them with her life itself, not allowing any creature to leave with one alive. Drakes do not care for other races and creatures, and merely sees them as either a nuisance or food. Drakes will occasionally band together in small uni-gendered flocks to raid and demolish settlements, eating the inhabitants and collecting any treasure found for their personal hoards. A flock will almost always be made up of entirely of similar Drakes, meaning a Frost Drake would not typically be found in a flock with a Flame Drake. Drakes can understand most languages naturally but cannot speak. Drakes are commonly mistaken as dragons, despite the vast differences in size, intelligence, strength, magic capabilities (Although they are magic resistant, a Drake cannot use magic), temperament, and morality. Most folk who claim to have dragon-related items (such as a dragonhide armor, or a dragon-tooth dagger) merely have the remnants of Drakes. (Although still magical and resilient, these items are nothing compared to the real deal). However; despite the lack of magical potency their greater ancestors possess, Drakes still maintain a strong resemblance to their origins. For instance, Drakes are still affected as equally as any dragon by any items intended to kill dragons (such as dragonbane arrows). When a Drake dies, the concentration of magic simply disperses, not permeating the land and anything nearby as the death of a dragon would. (Wip) Corrupted Twin Monkeys This creature is actually a pair of brown, furry monkeys with tails that were connected to eachother like one(Foot long). One monkey has a bigger head with purple marks on its face and usually makes more movements. The other monkey will always have yellow eyes. This creature looks as if it travels in pairs, but is actually one specimen. As the monkeys do look like two, the purple mark monkey controls both, having a brain capacity to control that big of a body(The body being both monkeys). This brain sees both eyes and can control them as if two separate monkeys. As this species does have twice the senses, the decoy monkey can't eat food as it's only for looks and sounds. If the monkey were to have its tail chopped off, the decoy-like monkey would drop dead to the ground as the first would start to have a brain spasm for the next hour. There's a 75% chance that the monkey were to die if not treated properly. Ways to treat the monkey would be to apply medicine to the end of the tail, then patching up the tail as feeding it herbs(Mushed so it can easily be swallowed). Even though treating the monkey, it will never be the same as it will be shaking, afraid and ready to bite anything near it. The two-bodied creature tastes like regular monkey and has a regular food preference of fruits and bugs. These monkeys are found in dark jungles where their formation started. They were contaminated to an overwhelming amount of darkness that cursed them and mutated them into this new formation. Miscellaneous Pathooze This amorphous blob of ooze changes color based on the basic emotions of the creatures around it. It’ll turn red if any creature around it is angered; blue if any creature is sad, green if any creature is happy, and it will remain a dull grey if there are no particularly strong emotions around. This often causes it to be confused with common grey slimes and oozes, as seeing one doesn’t particularly invoke any strong emotions in the observer. These oozes typically reside in the sewers of crowded cities, living beneath the filth and muck to remain hidden. It feeds off of the emotional energies of creatures. This isn’t particularly harmful to anything, but it can leave one with a feeling of emptiness and dread temporarily. If no ‘food’ is around for the Pathooze, it will invoke miscellaneous powerful emotions in any creature within 10 meters of it (This goes through solid objects, so if it were beneath the streets per se, anyone on the path above would be affected). This effect typically confuses and frustrates creatures as they try to calm themselves down. This is not a magical effect and therefore cannot be resisted via magic resistance. It is a mind effect (Psionic to be exact), and is resisted more by sheer will than anything else. The Pathoozes cannot communicate except through the misc-emotion effect. They have no known weaknesses, but also do not resist any forms of attack (No magic, physical, psionic, or elemental resistance). They do not subside off of any material substances and they reproduce asexually once every month or so. Illnesses In this section of the Bestiary, we cover the miscellaneous diseases, curses, and disorders that are plaguing Elysium. The current categories* for Illnesses are as follows: *Diseases *Curses *Disorders *''*More categories will be added as time goes on, so don't worry if there isn't a spot that would represent your particular illness!'' Diseases Nothing here yet! Curses Corruption of Darkness This is when darkness or madness wraps itself into a pile of darkness, creating a dark pulse that can pierce into anyone who stands in it. This will usually mutate them into some twisted or chaotic form. This is how the Twin Monkeys were created. (Wip) Disorders Nothing here yet! Plants In this section of the Bestiary, we cover the multitudes of plantlife in Elysium, ranging from the magical to the mundane The current categories* for Plants are as follows: *Flowers *Fungi *Moss *Trees *''More categories will be added as time goes on, so don't worry if there isn't a spot that would represent your particular plant!'' Flowers Nothing here yet! Fungi Lichtsprig A hollow bio-luminescent fungus that grows to around 12 feet tall in optimal conditions (Dark, damp, and cold). It's a thin, cylindrical fungus broken up into sections by varying shades of violet (Similar to Snakegrass or Bamboo). The Lichtsprig grows predominately in frost jungles and near underground reservoirs. Sunlight will kill this plant within 4-6 hours, causing it to wither up and lose its luminescence. The plant itself resembles bamboo, however it is extremely fragile and construction with it is nearly impossible (Until it is heated up, hint hint it's Chorus Plant). It radiates a faint lavender glow, illuminating only a few meters outward. After two years or so of this fungus’ life, it'll release spores. These spores are poisonous if inhaled or ingested and can cause fever, nausea, temporary blindness, headaches, and numbness of the arms and legs in particular; however the spores can be used by a skilled alchemist to create a potion that can resist gravity and make one leap higher than usual. Moss Nothing here yet! Trees Ironbark The iron bark tree is a relatively common tree around Elysium, typically growing in the harsh savannas of Aria and rarely found in Fei. It is named iron bark because of its grey tone and its unyielding resistance to most tools. Ironbark shields are some of the best shields in the world, renowned for their lightweight and virtually impenetrable nature. They don’t require much water to grow, and can thrive in mostly barren areas such as mountainous savannas.